Harden was perched High in the hay loft and watched the rip-in reality grow wider and wider in the rapidly dimming light of the setting sun. The ocean of smoke and ash poured out of the portal faster by the moment. It coated the barn's ground, blocked out his view of the summoning circle, and halfway engulfed the three sacrifices, only the very tips of their oily muscles left protruding from the black ocean.
The dense, acrid odor of rot and decay muscled into the room, forcing out the already foul scents of the cadavers and blood with far more paint-peeling twangs. Undoubtedly the smell of the ashen world was the worst part of opening any gate. The aromas were palpably muted when Harden was peering in through the sight Mother gave him. However, when the smells were brought forth into reality, keeping his meager lunch down was nearly impossible.
The deafening inhuman roar of the demonic entity grew in grandeur as its breach neared. The sound vibrations caused Harden's bones to rattle like nails being shaken in a tin can. He clenched his fists on the rope until his knuckles turned white, doing everything he could to ignore the overwhelming pressure of the beast's call.
Unlike some of Harden's other bounties, this one did not breach the wound in the world with powerful stomps or skittering chiton; the beast breached the portal with writhing masses of ghostly white tendrils that undulated and squelched as they groped across the ground, barely visible within the smokey ash as they sought the offerings.
The mass of tendrils slithered forward like snakes and coiled around the glistening bodies. The horrendous roaring silenced as they made contact with the loving gifts. The foul appendages slithered along the bodies covering their oiled muscles fully in their yearning grasp.
They cinched around the bodies tighter than a noose. The bones of the offered began to crack under the immense pressure; the dull fracturing initially sounded like gravel grinding under one's boot, only for in a split second, a sound louder than a whip snapped, as all their bones thoroughly shattered like a porcelain doll being thrown to the ground.
The tentacles pushed the three sacrifices together, forcing the bodies to meld together in a congealed mass of blood, muscle, bone, and sinew. Harden shuddered at the gruesome display, knowing that in a few moments, he would have to be tangling with a creature that could likely rip his limbs off as quickly as it could smash an egg.
Following the display of sheer strength, any reservations about using a potion and one of his spells had faded away. Harden slowly moved his hand down to his bandoliers and pulled out his last Immolation vial and a piece of oak charcoal from his pocket.
Harden slipped the charcoal into his mouth and began to chew. With each crunch, Harden's mouth was filled with the bitter flavors of smoke and char. His nostrils flared with the remnant smells of the campfire he pulled the charcoal out of. Thick ash coated his mouth and nearly choked him as he swallowed the chalky powder. Once having stomached the sacrifice, he began to whisper the words to his spell.
“By the power of the crow witch,
I wield bestial souls,
I call upon a soul of fire,
A soul of pure brimstone,
By the power of the crow witch
Our souls are one.
Your power is mine to wield,“
The words crawled out of Harden's Maw, and their fiery presence flicked through the air as they surrounded him. As the ethereal words fluttered through the air, they posed like daggers over his body; moments after each word had found the location they wished to plunge into his skin, they dropped onto him.
Dark splotches formed on Harden's skin wherever the dagger-like words made entry, the numb feeling of the black burn-like marks spreading rolled over Harden, his skin shifting from its usual heavily worked bronze to a cracked coal black.
Harden watched as the skin on his hands took on the texture and color of freshly burned oakwood, tiny flecks of his skin peeling away under the gentle flow of his breath. The flaking ash let Harden know it was time to take the immolation potion, if he had consumed the concoction too early, his screaming agony would undoubtedly signal the beast to where it could find a fourth meal that would not be able to defend itself.
Harden slipped off his duster and tossed it to the side, not wanting to lose one of his most treasured possessions during a selected action.
Tilting back the Immolation potion, Harden allowed the thick concoction to slide down his gullet freely. The flame-red liquid traveled closer to his stomach with every inch more powerful searing pain coursed through his nerves. Every square inch of Hardens charcoal-like skin ignited and glowed like a low smoldering flame. Flecks of sweat poured off him and burned his light cotton shirt; its dancing flames crawled into his skin and joined the already growing fire.
Sharply breathing out, sparks flew out of Harden's lips like a weak mimicry of great dragons he had only ever heard tales of. In the past, Harden wondered if those mythical creatures were real; ever since becoming unveiled, he had no doubt they were out in the world, somewhere at least.
Just as the fire burning his Hardens breast stopped growing in intensity, The beast finally joined the collection of tendrils crushing the sacrifices into a bloody paste. The creature slinked out of the black wavy portal, and Its visage was just as white as the tendrils that preceded it.
Perched atop the beast's broad spindly shoulders was a head that was vaguely human in shape but lacked all the critical details. Its face was little more than a circular row of jagged rotating teeth, centered down the beast's gullet was a long barbed tongue that sampled the air in search of its next victim.
Long arms with far too many hands and joints twitched and popped as they caressed the sloppy mash of flesh that once was the sacrifices. The large tendrils that initially came through the portal were stitched to the beast and acted in lue of legs.
Harden peered into the land of ash to see how far out of the circle the creature was. He sighed with burning fire flicking his tongue when the circle's magical presence appeared. The beast was still several yards from Mother's eye and was clearly content with remaining there as it feasted on the fresh offerings. The sounds of the beast lustfully shoveling the sacrifices into its maw squelched and slurped. The monster's steady, joyful purring joined the sounds of the gut-churning meal.
Harden slid the Lemat from its holster and took a moment to steady the front sight blade on the creature's bobbing head. His flaming finger slowly depressed the trigger; every centimeter of tension built as the hammer's release approached felt like a million pounds. Each moment before the weapon fired felt like a rope binding the fate of the two combatants being stretched tighter and eagerly awaited the violent break.
Crack
The fiery roar of the Lemat rang like a bell at the beginning of the deathly hunt.
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The bullet tore through the creature's head, sending chunks of its bloody white flesh flying across the room and wetly spattering the walls. The beast collapsed when the bullet ripped through it, slumping against the mass of sacrifices just as limp as any other dead creature.
“Wait, what?” Harden exclaimed, not understanding how the creature could have died from a single bullet. It usually takes far more effort to slay any entity. Even the weakest forms of lesser abominations still took at least being burned. Those that Mother was interested in needed one to nearly move a mountain, not just fire a simple silver slug.
Harden hopped off the hayloft, the dust kicking up as his knees crunched. He kept the Lemat drawn on the creature while gripping the human rope tightly in his other hand. With each step closer, the silence of the gap between Harden and the beast grew heavier, pushing all external sounds out and away. The only sound Harden could focus on when he was within touching distance of the monster was the slamming of his heart in his ears.
Before Harden realized that one of the creature's tendrils had begun to move, it had whipped up and slammed into his chest, cracking several of his ribs like glass. A foul mixture of blood and sparks showered out of Harden's mouth and onto the abominations' appendages. The monster screamed in ear-splitting agony as the burning sparks seared its flesh, their magical flames not being snuffed as the creature's blood began to boil.
Harden flew through the air and slammed into one of the beams holding the hayloft up; on impact, Harden’s body flew straight through the decaying wood beam. Half of the hayloft fell downwards; Hardens stashed equipment, joining him on the ground as he lay heaving desperately for air.
Harden immediately began to push as much magic as he could quickly muster through his Pneuma while rotating his open hand counterclockwise over his chest. While this magic was not ideal to be used while fighting, he can make it function somewhat effectively. Harden screamed the spell's words as blood and liquid fire burned in his mouth.
“By the power of the crow witch,
My blood, the sutures,
My desire the salve,
Mend the wounds,
Seal the flesh,”
The moment he stopped casting, a numbness poured into his chest. He knew that he had not actually fixed anything other than stem the bleeding and apply a painkiller; for now, this would have to do.
The beast had whipped wholly around, the wound in its head having vanished as if it never was even there. It clacked, clattered, and cursed at harden as it slithered forward. Harden hated these demons; they were always so talkative; they would trick, plead, beg, boast, and curse. None of it mattered; unless the devil spoke English; otherwise, no one would understand them, but their attitude when speaking was clear enough to understand.
The monster's disposition was here nor there right now. The Beast launched one of its tendrils toward Harden, angled as if it would split him like a knife running from his groin to his chest. Harden spotted the encroaching danger and rolled off to one side. The thick meaty tentacle slammed into the dirt, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
“You dirty snake!” Harden roared in fury as he stood and quickly fanned the hammer of the Lemat, launching three shots with a single pass of his hand. Each boom pressed a deep ringing in Harden's ears, somewhat muting the world with a shrill chime that stuck in his ears.
The weapon barked in powerful defiance against the creature, each silvered bullet finding purchase deep inside its guts. A foul-smelling stagnant rot poured out the beast's fresh wounds. Rotting maggots writhed out from the ground as the infection-like blood settled on the dirt.
The beast's circular mouth split wide and opened like a book as its roaring hatred of Harden spilled forth and cascaded through the walls and into the Appalachian countryside.
Harden Smirked and allowed the hunger of beasts in his pneuma to pour out of him. A grand legion of monsters screamed their claim to Harden at their misguided brethren. Harden shouted out with them, announcing his bestial claim to his soul.
Without hesitation, Harden grabbed the rope and rushed towards his bounty, his Lemat squeezed between the cordage and his palm, still ready to fire. He quickly leaped over the first undulating tendril that lashed out at him.
His feet back firmly on the ground as he sprinted towards his prey, Harden aimed at the beast's ghostly white shoulder. He ducked beneath another strike from the monster as he depressed the trigger; regrettably, the sudden movement caused only one round to travel true. The silvered bullet ripped one of the beast's horrible misshapen arms clean off, leaving a stump that fountained acrid blood onto the ground.
Before Harden could celebrate the small victory of wounding the demon again, the beast's arm latched onto his hip and sent him halfway careening forward. Harden smirked as he stabilized himself. The creature's grip on him lasted a moment before it howled in burning pain. The scent of the monster's burning flesh fueled the bestial rage inside Harden, the beasts attached to his screaming through him to consume the demon.
Swinging his arm back around and aiming at the neck of the demon, Harden fired the last revolver cartridge in his Lemat, leaving him with only the shotgun center. The bullet ripped through the creature's throat, blood pooling in its mouth as it gurgled and collapsed. Harden casually stepped off to the side, and the abomination fell beside him.
Harden, not one to be tricked by the creature a second time, took the rope and ran it around the creature's torso as many times as possible. He hitched the rope taught against its skin, binding the demon's remaining arm to its side.
“Peel the flesh to bind them,” Harden coughed. Blood and sparks shot out of his maw, landing on the beast's back.
Harden gasped for air in pain. The fractured bones all over his body begged him to use his magic to fix them properly. Harden considered healing his body then but reprioritized when he looked back at the creature and saw it was already starting to stir, the entity's dark blue magic was already stitching back up all the damage his revolver had done.
Harden sighed in annoyance and shoved the Lemat into the back of the creature's skull. He flicked the hammer upward, adjusting the firing pin to the singular 20 gauge round. The silver slug was the only round he had left loaded; without it, he would have had to retreat and start this fight again after he was patched up.
BANG!
The revolver recoiled heavily and caused every broken bone in Harden's body to cry from the heavy shotgun's vibrations. He nearly dropped the weapon from the crippling shock. Gritting his teeth, Harden holstered the gun and dragged the headless creature towards the circle's center.
Like when Harden first arrived at the barn, he only had to drag his prey a few yards while heavily wounded and struggling to stay awake. Each footfall was heavy and required every ounce of effort the former butcher could give. By the time the Demon was in the circle's center, it had begun to stir again, but Harden could not continue fighting the monster without surely dying. So Harden dropped the beast within Mother's eye and quickly retreated from the wards.
The Demon had awoken enough to lash out when Harden turned back around. One of the creature's tendrils slammed into the invisible wall of the sealing ward, causing Harden to leap backward out of reflex.
The demon began to lash out in all directions testing the ward for any fault or weakness, but no matter how hard it tried, it would not work. So long as Harden’s soul still walked on the lands of ash, all the demon's strikes did was cause its skin to smolder and burn.
“Dat’s Right, yah snake,” Harden screamed at the vile creature.
Harden allowed his hateful indignation to these beasts to overflow. While he was perfectly content with his Unveiled life, dealing with particularly greedy bounties like this was the lowest point. Harden's pneuma joined him in screaming wildly at the beast, yet the monster did not seem to care in the slightest; it continued to feebly slam into the barrier, hoping to escape its well-crafted prison.
Harden gave up on making his hatred of the beast known to it. So he paused and pushed magic throughout his body to snuff the flames of the immolation vial and return his skin to its normal state. Once the demons in his pneuma had greedily consumed the excess of the spells, he quickly took to healing himself.
Harden eased himself to the ground and, luckily, prevented his bones from fracturing further. He quickly meditated and traveled to the lands of ash. The demon's presence in the real world was easily visible even here. Centered within the binding circle, the demon's soul was a large mass of blueish gray that writhed and shot out lightning, the last remnants of the beast's powers seeking a way to escape Harden. Too bad the Demon had no chance. The moment the demon entered the circle, Harden’s bounty was complete.
Having sutured his bones and organs together, Harden released his binds on the Lands of Ash. The vibrant smells and sounds of the natural world flowed into him. Owls were hooting, and mice skittered nearby, tucking themselves in and out of dark corners of the barn.
It took Harden a few moments to realize what was wrong. The entire barn was calm, and the demon nearby did not stir. His eyes shot towards the circle, and he deftly slammed a fresh 20 gauge shell into the Lemat. Raising the weapon, the beast crouched on the far side of its invisible cage, cowering as the demon's skin boiled against the ward.
Harden's racing heart was put at ease when a short flutter of ravens behind him sounded out. Followed by the most beautiful voice he had ever known.
“You have done well, my child.”